TULSA, Okla.  It was one of those nights for the University of Hawai'i football team, a double-aspirin headache in which the offense was defused and the defense confused.

It was a night when host Tulsa, predicted by reporters to finish last in the Western Athletic Conference, overcame a 13-point deficit against the league's preseason favorite for an astonishing 27-16 victory at Skelly Stadium.

It was the sort of night that ended with the Hurricane players dancing to the boom-boom-boom beat of the Tulsa Marching Band while in the opposing locker room, the Warriors buried their faces in towels, with the showers providing the only sounds.

In a declaration of independence from consecutive one-victory seasons, Tulsa quarterback James Kilian, who scored a touchdown and led a 24-0 surge, pronounced, "This is huge."

Meanwhile, UH strong safety Hyrum Peters, his eyes reddened with frustration, implored teammates to forget "all of the bull and get ready for next week."

UH linebacker Ikaika Curnan, unrolling a blood-stained sock, said: "Our trip back home is going to seem even longer. It's going to (be tough) making the trip after this loss."

Kilian completed 12 of 26 passes for 106 yards. He also ran 18 times for 115 yards, and caught two passes for 35 yards. On those plays, Kilian hands off to a receiver running a reverse, then races downfield.

"It's called a 'Rainbow' pass," Kilian said. "We were down and didn't want to save everything until the end, so we opened up the playbook."